{"id":13650,"date":"2020-12-05T08:17:57","date_gmt":"2020-12-05T13:17:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/?p=13650"},"modified":"2025-06-29T08:26:15","modified_gmt":"2025-06-29T12:26:15","slug":"best-laid-plaids","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/13650","title":{"rendered":"Best Laid Plaids"},"content":{"rendered":"

Best Laid Plaids<\/a><\/em> (2020) Ella Stainton (Kilty Pleasures)<\/p>\n

\"Best<\/a>Set in Scotland in 1928.<\/p>\n

Well, I’ve now completely ruined my search history, trying to find when top and bottom were first used as gay slang. <\/p>\n

And the worst part is, I didn’t find the answer.<\/p>\n

Joachim Cockburn fought in WWI. He’s now trying to finish his dissertation in psychology, and his friend suggests he travel to Scotland to interview his brother, Dr. Ainsley Graham, who is best known for blowing up his career after insisting that ghosts existed.<\/p>\n

What did I like about this story? I loved both of the main characters, who are each damaged in the own way. Ainsley from the loss of his brother during the war (as well as the occasional fear that his seeing ghosts is actually a sign of a disordered mind), and Joachim from the war, and the death of his lover on the battlefield.<\/p>\n

I also really liked how Ainsley’s fidgeting was presented. That–in addition to his claims of seeing ghosts–probably sealed the ruin of his reputation.<\/p>\n

He stroked his thumb over the sensitive skin of his inner wrist, soothing himself into focus.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The interactions between the two men as they tried to navigate their feelings and desires were also very well done. Each had reasons for not wanting be deeper into the relationship than the other, and although the age difference between the two was significant, there wasn’t a huge power imbalance between the two, since Ainsley had wealth and was on his home turf.<\/p>\n

Ainsley was a witch. A shameless land-Siren who sunk his hooks into every bit of Joachim. There was no doubt at all he\u2019d be dashed among the rocks before it was said and done.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The initial interactions between the two were casual sex, which is not my thing, however, it bothers me far less in MM historicals, since sodomy was illegal and had real and serious consequences.<\/p>\n

Which led me to one problem I had, which was Ainsley throwing himself at Hugh to see if he was gay as a favor to his friend. The characters note that sodomy was illegal, but seem to ignore that it had real and serious consequences at the time. Getting yourself thrown in jail just so your friend can find out if the guy he fancies men is a really big ask, when the intended target is a barrister, well aware of the law. It seemed exceptionally<\/em> reckless when Ainsley was already in danger from his claiming to see ghosts. <\/p>\n

Not a deal breaker, but it did bother me, because I was worried about Ainsley getting thrown in prison (any any of the other horrible things that could have happened to him).<\/p>\n

The second issue was the language, which was very modern. That’s not a deal breaker, but it did occasionally throw me out of the story as I wondered whether language was really used that way at the time.<\/p>\n

But it’s a romance, and as much as I adore a well-researched historical, that’s not the majority of what is available, and I recognize that.<\/p>\n

So, a fun and enjoyable story.<\/p>\n

Publisher : Carina Press
\nRating: 7\/10<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Best Laid Plaids (2020) Ella Stainton (Kilty Pleasures) Set in Scotland in 1928. Well, I’ve now completely ruined my search history, trying to find when top and bottom were first used as gay slang. And the worst part is, I didn’t find the answer. Joachim Cockburn fought in WWI. He’s now trying to finish his […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[193,30,292,2,608,148,26,56,16],"tags":[605,50,737,546,544,535],"class_list":["post-13650","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-7-10","category-british","category-ebook","category-fantasy","category-neurodiversity","category-queer","category-romance","category-sexual-content","category-supernatural","tag-adhd","tag-boinking","tag-ghosts","tag-interwar-period","tag-mm","tag-neurodiversity"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/piQkW-3ya","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":23500,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/23500","url_meta":{"origin":13650,"position":0},"title":"Best Laid Plaids","author":"Michelle","date":"April 1, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Best Laid Plaids (2020) Ella Stainton (Kilty Pleasures) Set in Scotland in 1928 said scholar had annihilated his reputation as one of the Empire\u2019s most learned folklorists by publicly insisting that he chatted with ghosts. The steel tip of his walking stick twanged, punctuating each step in the way he\u2019d\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "7\/10"","block_context":{"text":"7\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/7-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"Best Laid Plaids","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Best-Laid-Plaids.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":23498,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/23498","url_meta":{"origin":13650,"position":1},"title":"Where There’s a Kilt, There’s a Way","author":"Michelle","date":"April 5, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Where There's a Kilt, There's a Way (2021) Ella Stainton (Kilty Pleasures) Set in Scotland and Sweden in 1930 (I)t gave Joachim a place where he could pay rent instead of sponging off his lover and not have to ask to borrow Ainsley\u2019s motorcar. Not that Ainsley minded\u2014he never seemed\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "7.5\/10"","block_context":{"text":"7.5\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/7-5-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":17631,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/17631","url_meta":{"origin":13650,"position":2},"title":"Where There’s a Kilt, There’s a Way","author":"Michelle","date":"August 14, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Where There's a Kilt, There's a Way (2021) Ella Stainton (Kilty Pleasures) Set in Scotland and Sweden in 1930 Joachim Cockburn and Ainsley Graham have been looking for summer positions to broaden their fields; specifically Jochaim wants to change how patients in asylums are treated, and hopes that working at\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"Where Theres a Kilt Theres a Way","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Where-Theres-a-Kilt-Theres-a-Way.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Where-Theres-a-Kilt-Theres-a-Way.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Where-Theres-a-Kilt-Theres-a-Way.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":12748,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/12748","url_meta":{"origin":13650,"position":3},"title":"Dead in the Garden","author":"Michelle","date":"April 14, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Dead in the Garden (2018) Dahlia Donovan (Grasmere Cottage Mystery) This is a cozy mystery, set in England, and is both adorable and has an amazingly diverse cast of characters. Valor and Bishan are shocked and distressed to discover a dead body in their yard. But it becomes even more\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "7\/10"","block_context":{"text":"7\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/7-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"Dead in the Garden","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Dead-in-the-Garden.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":20712,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/20712","url_meta":{"origin":13650,"position":4},"title":"The Lawrence Browne Affair","author":"Michelle","date":"August 28, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"The Lawrence Browne Affair (2017) Cat Sebastian (The Turner Series) Set in England in 1816. Lawrence has a reputation as a madman. A reputation he fully believes. Penkellis was no place for a child, madmen were not fit guardians, and nobody knew those facts better than Lawrence himself, who had\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Lawrence Browne Affair","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/The-Lawrence-Browne-Affair.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":14019,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/14019","url_meta":{"origin":13650,"position":5},"title":"Powered by Ghosts","author":"Michelle","date":"February 25, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Powered by Ghosts (2020) Kaje Harper (Necromancer) Set in alternate 1963 Darien is free of his ghosts (literally) and has become Silas' apprentice. However, he still has work to do, being a necromancer, and so the two end up dealing with a ghost problem, in a town where the local\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "eBook"","block_context":{"text":"eBook","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/ebook"},"img":{"alt_text":"Powered by Ghosts","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Powered-by-Ghosts.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13650","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13650"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13650\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13650"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13650"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13650"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}